Short Lasting
by UnicornPatronus
Summary: I feel that a lot of people dislike Cho simply because they think that she showed too much emotion about Cedric's death. I believe that she felt more about Cedric than she publicly displayed, and has every right to be devastated over his death. I wrote this from Cho's point of view to let those who think poorly of her see into her mind and find that they can better understand her.
1. Disapointment

I walk across the corridors of Hogwarts, arm in arm with my best friend, Marietta Edgecombe. She smirks as Michael Corner jogs by to catch up to his group of equally attractive friends. Marietta watches him, still grinning, out of the corner of her eye while adjusting her scarf across her neck, just for something to do. I smile to myself, resisting the urge to laugh. She fancies pretty much any guy she lays her eyes on, and doesn't really try to hard to hide it. She can fall head over heels for a guy within first glance. Still watching him, she flips back her red-blonde hair and laughs really loudly as if I had just said a joke, in attempt to get Michael's attention. Michael looks over at us for a moment curiously, then (to Marietta's great dismay) goes back to talking to his fellow Ravenclaws. Marietta frowns and then turns to me. "How come no guy will just ask me to the ball already," she mutters angrily. "Has anyone already asked you?" she adds with a sad look, obviously hoping I'll say no so she won't feel left out. "No," I say, desperate to keep my voice casual.

I stare at the stone walls and paintings, as though fascinated by the ancient craftsmanship. In truth I have been stressing out about the Yule Ball ever since it was announced. I know for a fact that Terry Boot, one of Michael's friends, has been thinking about asking me, and I wish he would just so I could be asked by _someone_. Though, if I'm totally honest with myself, I wouldn't say yes. I already have my eye on someone...with jet black hair..._incredible _green eyes...

"So is there anyone you are interested in?" says Marietta in a slightly cheerful voice due to the fact that she isn't the only one that hasn't been asked already.

"No," I lie with ease.

She frowns slightly, for she was probably hoping for me to go into deep detail about some bloke who I've had a crush on for ages, and that we actually have already kissed but he ditched me afterward...anything full of scandal that would make a great gossip topic for future discussions. But to be honest, I'm just not a spill-my-guts-about-everything girl. I prefer to keep secrets to myself, simply because I can sometimes put my faith in the wrong person, and as well as I think of Marietta, I'm just not willing to risk my deepest secrets by chance.

We walk down the Grand Staircase, nearly dropping our books as the stairs twist unexpectedly to the left. Marietta leads the way to the Great Hall for breakfast. When we sit down at the Ravenclaw table, I drink up a whole goblet of pumpkin juice in two gulps. Darcy McGee walks towards us arm in arm with Fleur Delacor and sit down in front of us. Darcy smiles adjusting her Ravenclaw scarf, and turns to Fleur. "Has anyone asked you yet?" Darcy asks in an excited voice.

"Yes, everywon 'as been asking me, and zey won't leave me _alone_!" Fleur exclaimed, annoyed. "And _none_ of zee boyz are even _zat_ cute, zey _all_ are annoying leetle boyz zat zink zay stand a chance. Zey bring me flowers, and chocolates, and zey just act _so_ desperate. Ze boyz from Beauxbatons are much more classy and zexy and romantic, _unlike_ zese leetle immature stalker boyz from Ogwarts." She continues to complain in her annoying French accent while Marietta and Darcy look up at her admiringly. I on the other hand am not listening. Harry Potter just walked in the Great Hall.

I act as if I'm paying attention to Fleur, nodding and saying "Yeah" every few minutes, while I watch Harry enter with his friends Ron and Hermione. Harry and his friends sit down at the Gryffindor table. I notice out of the corner of my eye that Harry is watching me. I act as if he is beneath my notice as I laugh at a joke Fleur said that I didn't hear. Then he looks away to talk to Ron and Hermione. _Hermione_. I frown to myself. He seems to always have his attention on _her_. I go back to listening to my friends talk to try to distract my from my unbearable envy.

" ...and then she just fell _right _into it!" says Darcy laughing so hard her face is turning purple. Fleur and Marietta laugh along with her, both red in the face. I laugh too, even though I am oblivious as to what they have been talking about for the past six minutes. Darcy seems to notice that my laugh was fake and forced. "What's on your mind, Cho?" she asked quietly, still smiling.

"Nothing, just school work," I lie equally quietly.

Then I hear Harry's voice from a distance. Not well enough to hear what he's saying, but loud enough to catch my attention. I turn my head towards the Gryffindor table to watch him briefly. Darcy notices instantly. Turns to see who I was looking at and smiles knowingly. She briefly glances at Fleur and Marietta to check if they are listening to us. They aren't. They are giggling while in deep conversation about some Beauxbatons boy.

Darcy turns to me.

"So, you're into Harry Potter," she says casually. "Since when?"

I blush but decide to be honest.

"Since the Ravenclaw/Griffindor game last year," I say quietly.

"Well," she says gently, "I think he's interested in someone else."

"Who?" I ask, already knowing the answer.

"Hermione." she says not as quietly this time. "I know he says that they're just friends, but..."

She stops talking when she notices that Fleur and Marietta aren't talking anymore, and are listening intently.

"But, izen't Ermione enterested in zat red-'ead, Ron Weaby?" asks Fleur.

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean that Harry doesn't still like her," Marietta intervenes, "It's sort of a love-triangle I think."

"Does Ron Weaby like Ermione as well?"

"Yeah it's _so_ obvious. He'll be so jealous when he finds out that Victor asked her."

"Victor _Krum_!?"exclaims Darcy, desperate to still be a part of the conversation, "_He_ asked _her_!? How in the name of Merlin did she pull _that_ off?"

"I honestly don't know, but I hear that she hasn't told anyone else yet," says Marietta, obviously pleased with Darcy's reaction, "I just can't wait to see Ron's face when-"

"Wait, how did _you_ find out?" I ask with skepticism in my voice.

"Fleur is friends with Victor." Says Marietta as if the answer was obvious and I was stupid to ask such a dumb question.

"Anyveys, why are ve talking about Arry, Ermione, and Ron Weaby?" asks Fleur, sounding as annoyed as always.

"Because Cho says that she likes Harry." says Darcy.

I blush, and stare at the table, waiting for the eruption of opinions to pour from Marietta and Fleur. I wish I hadn't been staring at Harry. I wish Darcy hadn't noticed. And above all I just wish that Darcy would know when to shut up. Instantly at her words Marietta gazed up at me in shock.

"Harry _Potter_! How in the world can you like him?!" asks Marietta.

"Keep your voice down!" I hiss at her in a whisper.

"How can you like him?" she asks, her voice quieter now, but still full of judgment. "He is just a show-off who put his name in the Goblet _underage_ just because he's Harry Potter and thinks that he can get away with anything and everything. Just cause he survived You-Know-Who he thinks he's something special and has to boast it by entering the Triwizard Tournament just to get more publicity that he already has. He wears that scar like a bloody crown, and all the publicity he had _still_ wasn't enough for him, so he had to go and do something incredibly stupid just to get his name in the _Daily Prophet_ for the fifty-millionth time, and-"

"Alright I get it!" I yell interrupting her speech.

"I just don't see how you can fancy him is all." says Marietta

"How can you _not_ fancy him?" exclaims Darcy, still wanting to be a part of the conversation that she started, "He is _so_ good-looking, and he survived You-Know-Who!"

"He iz too leetle for my taste. What iz he, like twelve yearz old?" says Fleur.

"He is not 'leetle'," I say, saying 'little' in my best impression of Fleur, "He's fourteen."

"Vell zere izn't much of a difference to me, considering zat I am zeventeen, fourteen is still too leetle for my taste." says Fleur stubbornly, "Boyz from Beauxbatons all look a lot older, more attractive, and are just plain taller! Hey who iz zat leetle girl?"

Fleur and Darcy look at something behind my head. Marietta and I turn our heads to see.

I recognize the girl at once. She isn't exactly someone who you can forget about. She has long, dirty blonde hair; a butterbeer cork necklace; and for some reason is wearing both her Ravenclaw scarf and a weird purple, orange, and sparkly gold scarf. Luna Lovegood.

Luna smiles down at us and asks in a overly calm voice, "May I sit with you? I would've sat somewhere else, but I arrived here late for certain reasons...and all the other seats are taken, or at least everyone tells me they are when I ask them if I can sit with them..." her voice trails off and we sit watching her a mixture of embarrassment and pity playing across all of our faces.

"Er sure you can." I say, moving my cloak out of the seat to my left and sticking my arms through the sleeves.

"Thank you." she says in the same, strangely calm voice.

"Your scarf has a hole ripped in it," says Darcy after a few moments to break the awkward silence, pointing it out.

Luna frowned. "Must be the nargles. _Repairo!" _she says, pointing her wand at the purple, orange, and gold scarf, mending the hole.

We all look at each other. Darcy is hiding a laugh behind her hand, while Fleur is openly giggling. Marietta looks simply sympathetic. I wonder for a moment to myself what nargles are, but then decide that it isn't really of importance.

"So are you going to the Yule Ball?" I ask Luna to break the silence. It's the first thing that came to my mind to say.

"No, I am in my third year and nobody has asked me." she says in the annoyingly calm voice.

"Well maybe someone will ask you. You never know." says Marietta hopefully, probably knowing good and well that nobody in their right mind will ask her.

"Yes maybe." says Luna.

"Let's go get our books." I say as an excuse to leave.

"Okay." says Marietta wiping her mouth with a cloth napkin while Darcy puts on her cloak that was hanging off the back of her chair. Fleur gives us a you-honestly-aren't-going-to-leave-me-alone-with-_her_ look and then decides to just rudely stand up and walk out of the Great Hall, giving Luna no excuse at all. Luna doesn't seem to be paying attention. She is reading a copy of _The Quibbler _from under the table.

Marietta, Darcy, and I walk out of the Great Hall, leaving Luna reading her magazine.

"She's so..." starts Darcy.

"I know!" exclaims Marietta.

Then as we're about to walk up to Ravenclaw Tower, Marietta stopps so suddenly that we run into her. She is looking at something behind us. I turn around, half-expecting to see Luna, but find myself surprised to find Cedric Diggery behind me.

Cedric is probably the most attractive guy at Hogwarts. He has the most interesting eyes. Gray, yet they don't look drained of color. Flecks of different shades of gray color his eyes like a painting...like his eyes were painted by artists...maybe that's why they don't look so drained of color...because there are all different kinds of gray...different colors...

I lose all thought and almost don't realize that he is watching me intently, smiling at me with his perfect teeth, and full lips...

"Um..." he begins nervously, "Well I was..er...just _wondering_ if..um...I could talk to you in private for a moment." He runs his fingers through his brown hair, his face bright red.

"Sure." I say in a startled voice that isn't mine. It's overly polite, and the one simple word that I uttered wasn't really by _choice_. It just slipped out. Like an instinctive thing. Like my lips had a mind entirely their own. _Instinctive_.

Marietta and Darcy look at me, excited.

"So _we'll_ just go..." says Darcy and she starts dragging Marietta up the stairs.

"So," starts Cedric in a more confident voice now, "I was wondering if you could go to the ball with me."

I don't know what to say to him. I think about Harry and how I'd been hoping that he'd ask me. But it just seems unlikely that he even likes me though. He seems to like Hermione, and Ginny seems to like him a whole lot and I just can't see him ever choosing me over either of them.

"Yes," I say, "I'd love to go to the ball with you."

He smiles, still looking confident and now looks very pleased with himself, glad with my answer.

"So..." I start awkwardly, not knowing what to say or do next, "I...um...will just go get my books now."

"Oh...right...so I'll just see you later."

"Yeah..." I retreat up the stairs before I can say anything else stupid and pointless.

Most of my classes passed in a blur. I remember having a test in one of my classes, but I can't remember which subject, or what the test was about. I only remember that I was sure about most of to questions, except one that I'm sure I got wrong. I think it was asking something about goblin rebellions. If that's what the whole test was about than that must have been in History of Magic. Yeah, now that I think of it, I'm almost positive that it was in History of Magic...

I skipped lunch, mostly to avoid talking to Marietta and Darcy, and instead spent the whole time in the Ravenclaw common room, _trying _to study, but not taking in a word about how Dumbledore found the many uses of dragon's blood. Mostly I just read one line over and over, and eventually just gave up and stared out the window at the lake and mountains.

Now I'm in Defense Against the Dark Arts, taking another test, this one about different defensive spells. I'm on the last question.

**Question 26: name the spell and describe the wand movements needed to disarm someone.**

I know the spell is _Expelliarmus_, but I just can't remember the wand movements. Time ticks by and I try so hard to remember the wand movements, but it's quite hard to concentrate with Darcy continuously tapping me on the back of the head from behind me and whispering, "What happened? Did he ask you to the dance? Did he-"

"Miss McGee! Please refrain from speaking in my class, unless you would like to tell the whole class what you feel you so badly need to say!" growls Professor Moody, his magical eye swerving towards her angrily. She stops speaking at once.

Why can't I just remember this? It should be easy. I know the spell! Why can't I just remember the wand movements...

The bell rings loudly interrupting my train of thought. Frowning, I pick up my parchment and hand it to Professor Moody. Darcy and Marietta confront me at once.

"Where were you?!"

"What did he want?"

"What did he say?"

"What did _you_ say?"

"He asked me to the ball!" I say quickly to stop the flow of prying questions, "And I said yes."

"Wow that's great!" exclaims Darcy, her enthusiasm genuine.

"Yeah that's great." says Marietta halfheartedly, obviously wishing that she had been asked to the ball before me.

We start to walk out of the classroom, when Harry suddenly appears in front of them, his eyes on me, apparently out of breath from running. "Er-Cho?" he starts, "Can I have a word with you?"

This cannot be happening! Why does this always have to happen to me. Darcy and Marietta giggle, along with some other girls just standing around, giggling even though they don't know what Darcy and Marietta are laughing about. Harry's face turns bright red, and I fake a look of calm that I usually see Luna wearing. "Okay," I say simply and hoping it comes out sounding normal, for I am trying my best to mask that I am freaking out right now. We walk a little ways away, away from the giggling girls and crowd of people just standing around. We are alone in the corner of the hall.

"Er," he starts nervously, "Wangoballwime?"

_What_ did he just say? "Sorry?" I say.

"D'you—d'you want to go to the ball with me?" he asks, his face turning beet-red.

"Oh!" I say faking surprise, even though I was expecting this. I feel my face turn red. "Oh Harry, I'm really sorry. I've already said I'll go with someone else."

"Oh," he says, disappointment washing over his face, "Oh okay, no problem."

"I'm really sorry." I say, wishing now more than ever that I hadn't said yes to Cedric. I _never_ thought that Harry would ask me, and I had thought when Cedric asked me, _why not?_ Cedric is polite, good-looking, hard-working, I had thought that he would probably be the best date I would get. How wrong I was.

"That's okay," he said awkwardly.

We just stood there for a moment in an awkward silence. "Well-" I start.

"Yeah," says Harry.

"Well, 'bye," I say and start to walk away.

"Who're you going with?" he calls after me, before I can leave.

"Oh—Cedric. Cedric Diggory."

"Oh right," he says in a strangely formal voice.

I walk away, disappointment flowing through me. Why couldn't he have just asked me a few hours ago? Then I could be going with him, and then I would be happy...

I walk into the Great Hall, realizing that I'm incredibly late for dinner. I walk over to the Ravenclaw table and sit by Marietta, Darcy in front of me, Fleur for some reason isn't present.

"Where's Fleur?" I ask as a distraction from my disappointment.

"Dunno," says Darcy, looking around to the entrance as if expecting her to walk in, and then turns her head back, her straight butter-blonde hair swishing everywhere, "but what happened? You told him no right?"

"Yeah," I say quietly in a blank voice.

"Well you can do so much better that him anyways. And plus, you now have Cedric. Not only is he an incredibly attractive seventh year, but he's in the Triwizard Tournament too!" says Marietta enthusiastically.

Suddenly Fleur walks up and sits by in front of Marietta.

"Where _were _you?" asks Darcy at once.

"Ugh, ze leetle Weaby boy asked me to go to ze ball wiz 'im, and zen he just ran off!" says Fleur, "And anyveys I already 'ave a date."

"Who with?" asks Marietta casually, apparently she finds it no surprise that Fleur has a date already, but the when _I_ get asked, her and Darcy make a big affair about it and act all surprised and excited and ask me all the details of every word that he said, faces that he made when he asked me , and hand gesture that the boy made throughout the whole confrontation.

"Roger Davies," says Fleur in a bored voice, " a Ravenclaw sixth year from Ogwarts. Zis food izn't nearly as good as food from Beauxbatons!" she complained.

I stuff a roll in my mouth whole, manors my last care in the world, and then leave the Great Hall. I travel up the stairs, into the Ravenclaw common room and go up to my dormitory, grateful for the fact that my homework isn't due tomorrow, and fall asleep the moment my head hits my pillow.


	2. The Yule Ball

I wake up, and lay in bed for a moment, trying to figure out why I feel so drained. Then I remember what happened the day before. I wonder briefly if Harry got another date. I _should_ hope that he did, but what I really wish is that I hadn't said yes to Cedric so that _I _could go with Harry. I barley even _know_ Cedric. I just know what people say about him. And I know all too well that everything you hear isn't always true. Like how Marietta is thoroughly convinced that Harry is a stuck-up, show off, who thinks he's above everyone and anything else. That he _loves_ being famous and that he 'wears that scar like a crown'. I think now of all the things that I have heard of about Cedric.

I've heard that he is a good guy. A typical Hufflepuff with all the Hufflepuff values such as hard-work, patience, justice, and loyalty. And of course everyone talks about how handsome he is. How can you _not. _He is an _amazing_ quidditch player, and I know this is not exaggerated because I have seen so for myself.

Now I wonder what he is _really _like. I decide that I should get to know him. He _did _ask me to the Yule Ball, so I _am_ his girlfriend. I might as well start hanging out with him. It would be _extremely_ awkward to show up to the ball and not know a thing about him. Not know what to talk about. I start wondering what will we talk about when I try to get to know him better. Now that I think of it, I don't think that I've ever really spoken to him. Maybe briefly, but not about anything of any real importance.

_Why did he even ask me?_ I wonder to myself. Maybe he has always had a crush on me and I just haven't noticed. Maybe he noticed me when we would play quidditch against each other. Or maybe he just asked me because he just thinks of me as a pretty face, and nothing more. Maybe he thinks thinks that he can mess around with me and that I'll let him, just because he's older than me and now he's famously known for being in the Triwizard Tournament.

My blood boils as I think of other reasons why he would want to ask me. The more I think the less I want to _get to know him._ I think briefly about maybe just calling it off with him and asking Harry to take me back, but then I think I may not being fair. Again, I think of the fact that I should at least _talk_ to him before I judge him. I shouldn't judge him by what others say about him, or by my angry speculations. I should judge him by how he talks to me. How he acts. Then I can truly judge him fairly.

I look out the bed curtains to see if anyone is awake yet. They aren't. All the Ravenclaw sixth-year girls are still sleeping. I don't even know what time it is, but then I decide that I don't really care. I get up out of the bed, stretching, and feeling wide awake despite how early it must be considering how dark it is out the windows. I walk down the stairs into the common room and sit down in a blue chair by the window. I can see all the mountains and the lake, looking beautiful in the darkness.

The grandfather clock against the wall reads 3:15. I _should_ be getting more sleep, but I feel wide awake. I decide to get out my homework and start working on that. I have to write a three-foot long essay on goblin rebellions, and what we could have done to prevent them. I also have to practice the silencing charm. I decide to practice the charm first. I get my wand from my blue bathrobe pocket. I pick up a gray cat that is sleeping on the floor. When I pick him up, he doesn't look very happy, and glares at me with a grumpy attitude. I jab my wand forward at the cat and say, _"Silenco!"_ The angry cat yawns, but no sound comes out. Pleased with myself that I did it perfectly on the first go, I decide that I don't really need to practice any more.

I murmur the counter-curse so the cat can meow again and set the cat down, where he instantly is back asleep, purring softly in its sleep. I get some spare parchment from on top of a desk and start to write my essay on goblin rebellions. I write on it until I am finished, and by that time the sun is rising, and my fingers are blistered. I heal my blisters the spell _episkey _and instantly feel relief. Now I have all my homework done for the week and can turn it in on Monday. I now look at the clock and it reads 7:26. I look around and realize that a few Ravenclaw first-years are lounging on the sofas in the center of the room, playing Exploding Snap. I yawn, now feeling exhausted. I regret waking up early, but it's too late now.

I walk back up the stairs to the girl's dormitory. Some people are starting to wake up now. Marietta opened her curtains and is now stretching and yawning loudly Darcy is up and is looking under her bed for something, her eyes lids drooping sleepily. She finally finds her pink heels and sits them on her bed. She looks over at me. "You were already up?"

"Yeah I woke up at like...three o' clock, and couldn't go back to sleep," I answer, "so I finished my homework."

She frowns. "We had _homework_?!" she says, looking worried.

"The essay..." I start, and a look of comprehension overcomes her face.

"Oh no! I forgot about that damn essay! What am I going to do? Can I copy yours?"

"Sure you can borrow mine," I say, laughing at her freaking-out expression.

She instantly looks relieved. I search in my trunk for my muggle clothes that I only wear on the weekends. I find some blue jeans, and a lavender blouse. I throw on some brown winter boots, and find a pair of silver earmuffs to wear. Darcy smiles at herself in a full length mirror. She is wearing a pink tee-shirt, with what might be the shortest jean shorts known to mankind, and her pink heels. With her wand she makes her lips look pinker, and glossier, and then charms her messed up hair to be straight and tangle free. She smiles to herself and then finds her mascara in her purse and lengthens her eye-lashes with it. She walks over to Marietta, who is still wearing the red bath-robe that she slept in. Darcy shakes Marietta yelling, "Wake up! Wake _up!_" for Marietta had fallen back to sleep. Marietta glares sleepily up at Darcy, her expression the same as the gray cat that I woke up hours ago. Marietta finally gets up and slowly finds a black sweater, and a red plaid skirt. She uses her muggle makeup to lengthen her eye-lashes and lines her eyes in black pencil. She then charms her lips to make them scarlet, and glossy.

I use the mascara, and pencil, and then make my lips glossier with my wand. I don't really feel like making my lips any gaudy color so I just leave my makeup like that. Marietta now looks awake as she finds her black flats to wear. I stand by the door until Marietta and Darcy are ready to go to breakfast. Then we walk down the stairs, across the common room, down the staircase, and into the Great Hall. We sit down at the Ravenclaw Table with Fleur.

Fleur looks at me and says, "Vat are you going to vear to ze ball?"

I pause for a moment and think, _What _am _I going to wear?_ I bought dress robes, yes, but that was before I knew this was going to be a dance. I need something more spectacular.

I'm not like a girly-girl or anything and don't _always_ obsess over what I wear like Darcy and Fleur, but this is the _Yule Ball. _I have to wear something _amazing. _I finally say, "I have no clue." I don't usually freak out about things like this, but now all of a sudden I feel so stressed.

Fleur must see by my expression that I am totally serious and this is nothing to joke about, because she doesn't laugh. Instead she looks over to me and says with a serious expression, "I 'ave a lot of spare dress robes for different occasions, and you could borrow von if you would like."

That is probably the nicest thing I have ever heard out of her mouth. "Thank you so much Fleur." I say sincerely with a light smile.

"Yeah you can come over to my voom on the Beauxbatons Carriage, and ve can get ready zere before ze ball." she says.

"That sounds great." I say, realizing that I may actually like her.

I don't really feel hungry so I tell Marietta, Darcy, and Fleur, "I think I'll just go back to the Ravenclaw Common room. I don't feel like eating."

"Okay." says Marietta while picking at her omelet.

I walk out of the Great Hall, but then I realize I don't really feel like going back the the common room. I need some fresh air. So I walk out the nearest door that leads outside and find a particularly shady tree. I sit under it, resting my head against the trunk, close my eyes, and just relax...

I wake up, and have no idea how much time has passed. I find that I am not alone, for many other students are crowded under the same tree as me, giving me no notice as they play gobstones. I stand and start to walk back to the castle when I run right into somebody, and fall onto the ground on top of him...Cedric.

"Oh! I'm so sorry!" I say, my face red as I try to get up. He smirks and says, "No problem." He says it so easily, no embarrassment in his voice, no awkwardness, just confidence and casualness.

I just stand there for a moment like an idiot and then just walk back into the castle.

That is the last time I speak to him until the ball. I just avoid him for the rest of the week. When I pass him in the corridors, I act as if I don't notice him. I still don't know why he a would ask me to the ball, but just because I have to go to the ball with him doesn't mean that afterwords I still have to hang out with him. I can just go with him to the ball, act like I'm having a good time, and then never speak to him again...

"Cho! Wake up! It's Christmas!" yells Darcy, shaking me awake. I sit up rubbing my eyes. It takes me a moment to process what she just said. Then I see all the presents and jump out of bed excitedly, all sleepiness gone. I pick up a small box with green wrapping paper from Marietta. I rip off the wrapping paper to find a little brown box. I open it to find a bronze bracelet with four different charms.

"Squeeze one of the charms!" says Marietta excitedly, talking both to me and to Darcy who got the same bracelet. I squeeze the first charm, which is a broomstick cut in half. When I squeeze it I am suddenly flooded with a vivid memory of us in our first year, when we stole the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain's broomstick as a prank after hours. We had to sneak down the stairs and were luckily not spotted. Then just for the heck of it we all took turns riding on the broomstick as high as we dared. I went first and then realized that I had a talent for it. That's when I first considered being on the quidditch team. Then Marietta flew on it, less graceful but not too bad. When she landed she tripped and fell to the ground. At first we were worried that she was hurt, but then she stood up laughing. Then we all started laughing. The broomstick was about to fly away but Darcy grabbed onto it and jumped onto it. She was up thirty feet in the air before she realized that she was on it backwards.

"Jump off it and we'll levitate you!" I said trying both to be loud enough for her to hear me from eighty feet up, and quiet enough so that no one would hear us. She looked unsure, but since she really didn't know how to drive it, and she _couldn't_ since she was backwards, she nodded. Marietta and I had our wands at the ready. When she jumped off, covering her mouth to hold in a scream, we both yelled "_Wingardium Leviosa!_" and we levitated her until she was low enough to jump down.

For a moment we were all just happy that we were lucky enough to get her down unharmed, but then suddenly our smiles faded as we all realized. The broom. We look up in the air where it was a few moments before, but it was gone. We instantly gave each other looks of panic. We ran along side the castle, trying to find it, but it was no use. Then I saw something sticking off the balcony on the Astronomy Tower. "The broom! There it is!" I yelled, but then instantly covered my mouth, realizing that if we were caught, we were dead. We had to sneak back into the castle, running so fast so the paintings didn't try to talk to us. We ran up to the Astronomy tower and my heart sank. The broomstick was there...cut in half.

We all looked at each other in panic, not knowing what to do. Then Marietta asked, "Do you reckon it's fixable?"

I shook my head, then Darcy gathered up the two halves and said, "Let's just go return it to the broom cupboard like this, and then no one will ever know!"

I could see tons of flaws with that plan. We had already risked expulsion by sneaking out of our dormitories in the dead of night, walking out of the castle to the quidditch field and into the broom cupboard, stealing the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain's broomstick, flying on a broomstick underage and without supervision, and then went running again through the corridors to find the broomstick. We were lucky we hadn't been caught yet.

Then Marietta said, "We can't just go running all over the school. We'll most likely get caught How about we just hide it in one of our trunks, that's what we were going to do originally-"

"But we were going to put it back! We were going to cover it in sparkles with a permanent sticking charm, yes, but we were going to put it back. We were going to put it back!" I yelled, and then covered my mouth again as I became aware that we still could be caught.

"We can still do that, just we can't risk putting it back _right now_ because I think you have awoken half the bloody school!" She yelled in a hushed whisper.

"Alright! _Fine!_" I shouted back in a whisper.

"Can we just go now so we don't get caught!" said Darcy, breaking up our argument.

We all ran as fast as humanly possible back to the Ravenclaw door, where we answered a question which was luckily an easy one, and ran through the door and up the stairs, and into our beds. Darcy hid it in her trunk...

I suddenly broke out of the memory at the same moment Darcy did.

"That was so cool! It was like I was actually there again!" exclaims Darcy excitedly.

"How did you _do_ this!" I ask. I remember how we had finally found a way to fix it, and ended up putting it back, with the sparkles of course. But before we found a way to fix it we were freaking out, because as long as we still had the evidence in our trunks, we could be caught. The staff were going all over the school looking for it. They asked all the paintings, but most were asleep, weren't paying attention, or they saw us but couldn't see us in the dark when we were running that fast. We were lucky to not be caught. We never did a prank like that again after that.

"I know a guy." says Marietta, smirking, dangling a matching bracelet of her own from her fingertips. "Lee Jordan helped me. Said he picked up a few skills from the Weasley twins. Used the same sort of method that they are planning on using in there shop someday. They plan on making different ways to able us to have vivid day-dreams whenever we want. He told me not to tell anyone cause they want most things to be a surprise for when they open a shop. How cool is that!"

"Really cool!" I say. "Are all the charms like that?"

"Yes. Each of them has the best, or at least the most interesting, memory from that year. See there are four right now, one from each year, and we can add to it!" Says Marietta, sounding pleased with herself.

"Wow I can't believe that I forgot how_ stupid_ we were in our first year!" I say laughing.

"You mean how stupid_ you_ were." says Darcy, "Always dragging us into trouble... man I don't see how you didn't get into Gryffindor."

"Because I'm not really _brave_. Like you said I'm just stupid sometimes."

"Then you shouldn't be in Ravenclaw!" says Marietta jokingly, smirking.

"Shut up!" I say, but I'm smiling.

"What time is it, were gonna miss breakfast." says Darcy.

She's right. That memory lasted at least two hours.

"No, it actually only lasted two minutes." says Marietta, smiling at our surprised faces.

"Really!"

"That's so _cool_!"

"How do the Weasleys come_ up_ with these things!"

"No idea." says Marietta. "If there _this_ smart, I can't believe they didn't get more O.W.L.s."

We then get back to opening our other presents. Darcy and Marietta both look happy about the basket of sweets I got them from Honeydukes. I open Darcy's present and find a large box of the muggle makeup she is so fond of. Then I find a box of thirty-five different quills, each varying in color, design, and size, from my aunt. Then I get a book of prank charms from my Grandmother and Grandpa on my mum's side. I get a set of Exploding Snap from my Grandparents on my father's side. I then get a very pretty hairpin from Fleur.

"Commonletgogetbreakfast!" says Darcy really fast. "I'm _starving_!" her stomach growls, thus proving her statement.

"Okay." I say, because I'm pretty hungry too.

We walk down the stairs into the common room. It is empty except for Padma with some other girl, and Luna sitting alone just watching people, her eyes moving from one person to another. I look away to reduce the risk of her trying to catch my eye, or even worse, walking up to try to talk to us. I walk quickly to the door that leads out of the common room, Darcy and Marietta, taking my lead, following me just as fast. We then walk down the stairs and into the Great Hall.

The breakfast is as magnificent as usual with all my favorite Hogwarts foods. Seeing all the food, I suddenly realize how hungry I am. I sit down and grab the ham knife and cut the largest piece of ham possible, about an inch thick. Not really caring about manors, I shove it into my mouth and take the largest bite humanly possible without breaking my jaw. Marietta takes notice.

"Hungry are we?" she says with a smirk.

I nod, unable to answer with words due to the fact that my mouth is filled twice its limit with ham. Then Fleur comes up to sit down. Her and Darcy instantly spark up a conversation. Its the usual conversation where Fleur finds something to complain about, and Darcy agrees with her and tries to think of creative ways those things can be improved. Then they just gossip about random Beauxbatons students. Having no interest in what they are saying, I don't even bother to listen. I just strike up a conversation with Marietta.

"So has anyone asked you yet?" I ask.

She frowns. "No. No ones asked Darcy either."

"Well it won't be too bad, going without a date." I say.

"Easy for you to say. You already have a date. _The_ perfect date. Cedric Diggery. _The _Cedric Diggery-"

"You don't always have to use his last name you know. Just call him Cedric." I say, not liking at all the way the conversation is headed.

"Fine. _Cedric_ has already asked you to the ball, so you don't have to go alone. You don't understand. If I show up without a date...then...well..._I just can't show up without a date!_"

"You won't be the only one without a date. There's still Darcy, remember? You guys can hang out at the dance since no one asked you, and isn't that better. You can hang out with your best friend-"

"While you get to hang out with the sexiest bloody guy in the school." She interrupts, matter-of-factually.

"While I _have _to hang out with a total stranger, who I have no clue what to talk to about, or why in the world he would ask me." I correct.

"Blimey, you _still_ haven't talked to him?"

"No. Why should I?" I counter.

"Why should you? _Why should you?_ Because he's your boyfriend you idiot!"

"He _isn't _my boyfriend. He has only-"

"Asked you on a date!" She finishes for me. "That means he's technically your boyfriend, and you haven't talked to him since he asked you. Why haven't you talked to him. Gotten to know him. I know you have the bloody same excuse every time I ask you that! '_Well I just don't know him that well yet. I just don't know what to even talk to him about. I don't even know why he asked me,'"_ She says in a high pitched voice that is supposed to be my voice, but is nothing like how mine really sounds, "Well, you know why you know nothing about him? You know why you don't know what to talk to him about? You know why you don't know why he asked you? Because you won't _talk to him!_"

"I will talk to him tonight at the ball." I say. She's right though. I just feel so nervous about talking to him, and would much rather hold it out until the very last minute. At the ball I won't have a choice.

Darcy and Fleur are still just gossiping away. It's a miracle that they didn't hear our loud conversation, which if they had known the topic of they would most certainly give their input.

Marietta stands up. "Come on. Let's go. I'm full and most of the school is gone."

"She's right. We were so caught up in our conversation that we didn't notice that the only people left in the Great Hall are the staff, decorating for the ball, a few Hufflepuffs playing Exploding Snap, and Luna and Ginny talking while standing near the door. Ginny doesn't particularly look like she is enjoying the conversation, but keeps up a polite smile through the whole time, while probably wishing to be anywhere else. Luna just keeps talking and talking while looking constantly down at her _Quibbler_ , no doubt for references to what she is telling Ginny.

I stand up, and so does Darcy and Fleur. Fleur departs from us when we leave the Great Hall to go to the Beauxbatons carriage, her parting words, "Come to ze Beauxbatons carriage at five o' clock so you can pick out your dress robes."

We head up to the Ravenclaw Tower and sit down in the common room and watch an intense game of wizards chess played by two Ravenclaw seventh-year boys, Max and Zack. Max is overly cocky, and most of the students are rooting for him, including Darcy. Marietta and I are rooting for Zack, who is actually better than Max, and _way_ less cocky.

Max runs his fingers through is blonde hair, in what was probably supposed to look sexy, but doesn't because of simply how unattractive he is. He adjusts his glasses, pushing them up his nose. Zack's face is red, in concentration, looking strange with his ginger curls. After about two minutes of him just staring at the board, he finally moves his bishop to E-4. "Check-mate!" He says, smirking. "That'll be five Galleons." he says with a triumphant smile, holding out his hand. Max hands him the money. He isn't mad or anything about losing. They make bets all the time, over the most random things. He'll probably get the money back in another bet.

At about five o' clock, I walk down the steps and through the doors leading outside. I find myself in-front of the Beauxbatons carriage. I knock, and a Beauxbatons boy comes to the door. "Yes, vat do you need?" He asks politely.

"Do you know where Fleur Delacor is?" I ask, mesmorized by how big the carriage is. From a distance it doesn't look that big. Then I got up closer and realized it is the size of a house, and it seems even bigger on the inside. Perhaps it was done by an Undetectable Extension Charm. He nods, and starts to walk down a hall, gesturing me to follow him. He then starts walking up a long, blue carpeted staircase. At the very top, which seems miles high, he walks down a long hallway, with over one hundred pale blue, double doors. He gestures toward one of the doors. I thank him, and knock on the door. Fleur answers, wearing a navy bathrobe.

"'Ello Cho! I 'ave laid out all my dress robes on my bed for you to look at."

I walk into a large suite. Everything is blue. Blue carpet. Blue bed. Even a blue toilet that I can see through the open door that leads to the most luxurious lavatory I have ever seen. The only things that are a color other than blue, are the dress robes laid out for me on her bed, and the silvery one in her hand that she intends to wear.

"So vat von do you 'ant?" she asks

I look at all the dress robes. I pick up the one nearest in my reach. It's pink, frilly, and lacy, and to be honest it looks more like lingerie than dress robes. I put it down and next pick up a pretty solid green one. I then hold it up against me and look in the mirror. That's when I realize how short it is.

_Is there _anything_ decent in her closet? _I wonder.

I pick up a purple one which is pretty, and actually looks like something I would wear, but for some reason it just isn't what I pictured wearing to the ball. I then lay my hands on a pale yellow dress. It is beautiful. It is sparkly, attractive, but not too sexy or revealing like the other ones that are so vulgar they should be illegal to wear in public.

I try it on and it just feels perfect. It's like it was personally fitted for me. It looks amazing. It hugs my curves, but isn't too tight. It's just perfect.

"This is the one." I say, more to myself than to Fleur.

Fleur smiles. "You look great! Come on, I'll do your makeup."

She gestures toward a chair in front of another mirror. I sit down and she digs in a drawer in her cabinet, and finds a large makeup bag. She pulls out the mascara, eyeliner, and eyeshadow, and I watch as she makes my face look like a model's before my eyes. She then charms my lips to make them a glossy sort of pale plum color. She makes my few pimples invisible, and then tells me to stand up. She then walks into her closet and pulls out a pair of black heels. I put them on my feet and look at myself in the full mirror.

"Wow." is all I can say. I can't believe that the beautiful person in the mirror is me. Fleur smiles and says, " Am I ze best makeup artist ever or vat?"

"The best." I say.

She then changes into her pretty dress robes, puts on her makeup, and then pulls on her silver heels. She pulls her hair up into a sock bun atop her head. She then points her wand at my head and I watch in the mirror as my straight black hair becomes elegant ringlets.

"Ready to go?" She asks. Not really waiting for my answer, she grabs her velvet purse and starts walking towards the door, gesturing me along. We walk across the long hall, and down the many staircases, until we find the front door. We then walk across the grounds until we reach the school. I see on an ancient clock that it is 7:40. We still have twenty minutes. We both walk up the stairs, and up to the door where I answer the easy question the bronze eagle knocker asks, "What came first, the phoenix or the flame?",with, "A circle has no beginning."

We walk into the common room to find that everyone is already ready for the ball. All my fellow Ravenclaws are busy conversing excitedly about the ball. We walk up to Darcy and Marietta. Marietta is wearing robes of a deep purple velvet, and Darcy is wearing sparkly black, lacy, ultra-mini dress robes that wouldn't look out of place in Fleur's closet. They look at me excitedly.

"You look _amazing_!"

"Of course you always look great, but now you look..._wow!"_

"Thank you!" I say, "You guys look _incredible_ by the way."

"Thank you!" they both say together.

"Ready to go?" asks Darcy excitedly, "I hear that the Weird Sisters are playing!"

_"Really!"_ exclaims Marietta.

They all run excitedly to the door, and Fleur and I follow them. We walk down the stairs, and toward the Great Hall. Right when I'm about to walk through the door, Cedric walks up to me.

"Hey." he says, his face calm and collected, while mine is as red as the Sun.

"Hey..." I say awkwardly. Then I notice Harry standing near us with Parvati. He doesn't seem to notice us. For some reason I want to make him jealous. I just don't want him to lose interest, so that after the Ball, maybe _I_ can ask him out...

"You look great." Cedric asks, breaking my train of thought.

"Thank you." I say in a surprisingly confident voice. I walk really close to him, and try to look like I'm enjoying myself. To my great joy, Harry notices, and he doesn't seem to happy about it. He looks like he would rather do nothing other than punch the wall. I watch him only out of the corner of my eye, making sure to keep my eyes on Cedric. Then I suddenly think of an obvious flaw in my plan. Cedric. What if he really thinks that I'm interested. I don't want to hurt him.

Then I think of all the possible reasons that he might have asked me in the first place, and decide that I don't care. That I shouldn't care. But I do care. I'm a nice person. I always have been. I think of others before myself. That's just how I think. Natural. _Instinct. _

Then Professor McGonagall's voice interrupts my deep thinking, "Champions over here please!"

I couldn't have been more glad. I won't be alone with Cedric. I'll also be with Fleur. And Harry...

We all walk where Professor McGonagall gestures to, just near the door. "Wait here while everyone else enters. You will all enter together when all the students are seated." She says to us.

I try to catch Fleur's eye, but she is too busy talking to Roger Davies, her partner. Roger just looks like he's in some sort of trance while Fleur talks to him, complaining about something as usual. Krum is busy staring at Hermione. That's when I notice how Hermione looks. Oh my goodness she looks amazing! She is wearing flowing, blue dress robes that make her look amazing. Her hair is no longer bushy and frizzy, but is now sleek and shiny and up in a lovely twist in the back of her head.

Harry is gaping at her like he's never seen her before. I find myself incredibly jealous, so I turn to Cedric and say, " Wow! You look really great tonight." I take hold of his right hand in my left when I say this, and I say this in a soft, what I hope sounds sexy, voice. I sort of play with his brown hair with my free hand. But Harry isn't even paying the slightest attention to me, his eyes still on Hermione. _Hermione. _This juts can't be happening. Everything has gone from bad to worse. He obviously likes Hermione, and he also has asked Parvati to the dance. Maybe he has feelings for her too. And Ginny obviously likes him, which could be a problem only if she finds a way to sway him. How can I compete with that. Hermione was just a dorky nerd, but Harry seems to like that. She spends all her time reading and obsessing over classes, yet is also brave enough to keep up with Harry. That's why he likes her. And now she has even more going for her, since now we can all see that what she actually tries, she can actually look pretty.

Parvati is his date, so he obviously had to ask her. There must have been a reason. He wouldn't just go out with anyone. Would he? I'm not too sure. He's a guy, and guys do weird things sometimes. I would never ask, or say yes to a random person...

But I did. So who's to say he wouldn't. It's all just so confusing. He doesn't seem to like Ginny though, so she won't be a problem...

Then Professor McGonagal calls all the champions and their partners to walk in in pairs and follow her. We all get in line, my hand still holding Cedric's. We all sit down at the large, round table where all the judges are sitting. Harry starts talking to Percy, Fleur starts talking to Roger, and Hermione starts talking to Krum. Parvati just looks kind of mad at Harry for juts ignoring her. That makes me happy. He's ignoring her. He would rather talk to that red-haired prat about his job at the Ministry then talk to one of the two prettiest girls at Hogwarts. I start to talk to Cedric just for something to do.

"What quidditch team do you go for?" She asks, leaning close to him in hopes of getting Harry's attention. But he is just to into his conversation with Percy to notice.

"The Tutshill Tornadoes." He answers, smiling.

This takes me by surprise, and I say, "Me too! I love them. I've always supported them, along with my family, even before they started winning loads."

"Me too." He says, still grinning.

I am quite surprised that we have _something_ in common.

"Remember when Seth Williamson saved that quaffle from going into that left side hoop in that game, where Daniel Thrower got that concussion from that bludger that was hit by that bloke with the super long hair." Only a real Tornadoes fan would fully understand what I just said.

"Yes! That was the most incredible save I've ever seen! At first I thought he was gonna fall off! He was just standing on it like he does it all the time, and at that height if he had fallen he would never be right again. And he just reached out and hit it! Then he almost fell but just caught on the end of his broom..." he trails off.

"When I was watching that I almost has a heart attack. He just fell off , but then caught hold of the broom at the very last second. I can't believe that he retired. He was the best on the team." I smile, now holding his hand not to make Harry jealous, but simply because I want to.

"Why did you ask me?" I ask him without awkwardness in my voice for a change.

"Well I have sort of always liked you. I took notice of you at first for your _incredible_ seeker skills. I also have always found you attractive, and being in Ravenclaw I knew you were smart..." he trails off again, his voice lacking the awkwardness I would've had if I had juts said all that.

My face is blushing, but I try to hide it. He just sits there looking all calm and confident. Why did he have to tell me all that. He could just simply say that he found me attractive and juts wanted to ask me. That would've been a normal answer. But this...this...he's juts so..._honest_. Too honest. He tells the awkward truths, and he seems to have no embarrassment delivering them. God, it's like talking to Luna, but without the weird calm voice, and replaced with just plain confidence, always smiling like the whole world is perfect and nothing could go wrong...

I'm brought out of my thoughts when Roger suddenly slams his hand on the table. "Like _that_. Yeah." He says to Fleur who continues to talk in her whiny, always complaining voice. Hermione is teaching Krum to say her name. "Herm-own-ninny." he says. I nearly choke on my sesame chicken as I try to hold in my laugh. "Close enough." she says, grinning while looking over to Harry. I try not to look jealous. I turn back to Cedric, but then notice the Weird Sisters get on the stage. They start to play a song, so we all stand up and walk to the dance floor. Harry is seemingly taken aback and stands up later than everyone else. Cedric places one of his hands at my waist, holding the other tightly in mine. We start dancing. I am particularly good at dancing, and apparently he is too. We revolve slowly, all the while he keeps up a permanent light smile.

Then everyone else starts dancing as well. Ginny is dancing with a dorky unattractive guy, and looks as though she would rather be dancing with anyone else. She watches Harry dancing horribly with Parvati. Harry, I am glad to see, isn't watching Hermione, and only briefly meets Ginny's eye. Then he starts talking to Professor Moody, who just walked up to him and Parvati. I look back to Cedric, who was already watching me. He doesn't seem to have noticed me watching Harry, but just maintains the same smile he's worn the whole night.

Then the Weird Sisters start a faster song. Harry and Parvati walk away from the dance floor over to the table where Ron and Padma are. Parvati and Padma don't seem too happy. Ron just sits there, moodily staring at Hermione. I then notice Harry is watching me and Cedric jealously, paying no attention to Parvati. Then a Beauxbatons boy walks up to Parvati and talks to her. Parvati looks over to Harry and says something to him, and he stops watching me to look over to Parvati. He says something that seems to make her mad. She says something else to him, then stands up and walks away with the boy.

_Perfect_, I think to myself. It couldn't have been better. I then think that I should do something. I should go up and talk to him. But for some reason I just don't want to. I want to stay here and dance with Cedric. I don't know why. Normally I would take this opportunity to talk to him. But I just _want _to stay. I don't want to leave. I don't know how to explain it. I just know that I want to stay with Cedric. It's just what I want. _Instinct._

I find myself actually not caring when Hermione walks up to the table to talk to Harry and Ron. I find myself not caring about anything. Not worrying about anything. Just enjoying myself. I continue to dance with Cedric, keeping up with the fast music.

I start getting thirsty and tired of dancing after a while. I tell Cedric this, to which he says, "Go sit down, and I'll get us some drinks."

I sit at the table that Ron and Harry were recently occupying. They must have gone outside. I don't really care that much though. All I care about is that I'm here, having a great time with Cedric, and that he will be back in a moment with drinks and then we can just talk.

He arrives at the table, carrying two wine goblets filled to the rim with butterbeer. He sits next to me, handing me one of the goblets.

"Thank you." I say and take a huge gulp, being so thirsty. Then I find myself saying in the light of the moment, "Why, if you have always liked me, did you not talk to me before now?"

He answers without hesitation, "I always thought you had your eye on someone else."

Was I _that_ obvious! I then blush for the first time since before we started dancing. He doesn't say it in a jealous way or an angry way, but there is just no way that he didn't notice how I have been watching Harry the whole night, how I've always watched him since my fourth year. Maybe he doesn't say it angrily because he can tell that I'm not thinking of Harry that way now. That, or he is just really good at controlling his facial expressions.

I, feeling out of nowhere a sudden surge of confidence, say, "I did, but I don't anymore."

This makes his smile widen.

"What made you decide to play quidditch?" he asks out of the blue.

I can't answer that. I first decided I wanted to play quidditch when I rode the Gryffindor Captain's broom so high and so fast. It was different from the flying classes we took. In class we all had to fly only a few feet off the ground, and at a slow pace to stay with everyone else, and we couldn't fly it on our own. We only flew it where Madam Hooch told us to fly them. But when I rode the broom that night with no adult supervision I just felt free. But I couldn't tell him any of this because I swore I wouldn't tell anyone, because if any adult found out we would be _so _dead. Also I didn't want to tell him this because that would mean explaining how stupid I used to be when I was young. And he would figure out how I am still a bit stupid at times. Like me saying yes to him when he asked me to the ball for instance.

So I just say, "I just decided in my second year to just try out and see what happens. And I really enjoyed it...so I have stayed on the team since."

His face is unreadable. He keeps up the same small smile that is permanently etched into his face. I'm not sure if he believes me or not, so I just change the subject quickly.

"What time is it?" I ask.

He looks down at his watch. "Eleven twelve," he says.

"Do you want to go for a walk?" I ask. I just want to get away from all the noise, people, and music.

"Sure." he says. We walk out into the entrance hall. Karkaroff and Professor Snape are rushing through the open doors, Karkaroff looking worried about something, Snape looking annoyed. They brush past us and head for the staircase. We walk out the double doors and outside to find that there are only a few people out here. Half-concealed in a rosebush we can see Fleur with Roger Davies. They are so wrapped in each other, you can't really tell whose hands are whose. I can see Madam Maxime and Hagrid talking while sitting on a stone bench next to a beautiful fountain far up the path. The bench looks so small with them sitting on it. I see two boys hiding behind the fountain. I can't tell who they are in the dark, but I wish that I had enough nerve to tell them that it is rude to eavesdrop.

Instead, I walk up the path and past them with out them taking notice. Cedric follows me. We step off the stone path and start walking in the grass, my heels by some miracle not sticking in the ground when I walk. We walk over to the other side of the castle and find another stone bench. It looks much larger without Madam Maxime and Hagrid occupying the space. We sit down on it, the bench feeling rather cold at first. I had almost forgotten it's winter. We both shiver, and Cedric pulls out his wand and mutters something under his breath. I instantly feel heat coming from his wand, as if a fire was lit right next to me. He then mutters something again and stops the heat from coming out of his wand, for the air around us is now heated enough. He stows the wand back in his cloak.

"So, have you enjoyed tonight?" he asks.

"Yes," I say truthfully. I honestly don't see why I got so worked up about it. I don't see why I had regretted saying yes to Cedric. I just don't see why. All of that is over now and I think we could be great friends. Or more than friends.

Some parts of tonight he seemed like a friend. Talking about quidditch for instance, and dancing. Then there were other parts that made me want us to be more than just friends. _Just _friends. It wasn't enough. I knew that there was no way we could ever be _just_ friends. I just knew. _Instinct._

Plus he had already told me that he has always liked me. That isn't really something you tell someone who is just a _friend. _

He reaches into his cloak again to pull out his wand. He says, "_Accio Butterbeer!" _and flying around the corner in an instant are two goblets of butterbeer. I catch one of them and drink. It is so warm and just tastes so good. I have always likes butterbeer. It's like sugar cookies in a drink. The best thing ever.

We don't really talk for a minute, just drink. I then realize after a while that it must be time to go. If we get caught after hours then we are _dead._ I tell him this and he quickly agrees that we should probably go back into the castle. We walk around the corner and find the stone path. Everyone else is gone, except I can see Hagrid's large silhouette in the darkness walking back to his cabin. The boys that were hiding behind the fountain are gone now, as are Fleur and Roger.

We walk up the path and through the doors. When we walk in we can see that there are only a few minutes until the ball ends. Then he asks, "Want to dance again?"

I nod. Sitting for a while I have regained my energy and would rather do nothing more than dance again. We walk over to the dance floor. The Weird Sisters are playing the end of some fast song. As we walk over to the dance floor I see Fred Weasley and some girl that I recognize from quidditch are dancing very fast to keep up to the music. The girl kicks her feet up so many times and I am almost kicked in the face a few times, and kicked once for real in the stomach. We back away from them for fear of injury.

We find a spot with not as many people, and the Weird Sisters start to play a slower song that I can actually keep up to. We dance slowly, One of his hands on my waist, the other holding my hand. We dance until the song is over, and the staff starts ushering us out of the Great Hall.

We walk out the doors into the entrance hall, and Cedric says that he'll be back in a moment. He walks up the stairs and stops halfway to talk to someone. I try to see who but at that moment Darcy and Marietta rush up to me.

"Sooooo, how'd it gooooo?" asks Marietta.

"Surprisingly great." I say honestly.

"Did he kiss you?" asks Darcy, smirking.

"No, of course not." I say, caught off guard by the absurd question. "It was our first date."

"Oh. Right," she says, her smile dropping a bit from lack of gossip.

"Well what did you guys_ do?" _asks Marietta excitedly. "Nothing. He's coming back! I'll tell you everything in the common room!" I say quickly.

Cedric walks down the stairs and over to me. "Who were you talking to?" I ask.

He smirks a little and says, "To Harry-"

My shock must show on my face because this only makes him smirk wider. Why in the name of Merlin would he talk to Harry?

"...about the Triwizard Tournament," He finishes, still smirking at my expression. I feel relieved. I don't know what I thought he had talked to him about. It seems unlikely that he would just walk up to him and brag about the fact that I said yes to him. But nonetheless, I feel immense relief when he says that they were just talking about the Tournament. I had almost forgotten that they were both competing in it.

"Well I guess I'll see you tomorrow." I say to change the subject.

"Tomorrow." He agrees. I walk over to join my friends who were standing near us the whole time, pretending not to be paying attention.

We walk up the stairs and into the already opened door that leads to the common room.

"So what happened?" Darcy asks at once when we sit on one of the sofas.

"We just talked...about quidditch, and then danced, you all saw that. Then we just talked again, and then we walked outside-"

"You guys walked outside! What did he do? What did _you-"_

"..and we sat on a bench and drank butterbeer." I say, cutting Darcy off. "We talked little and then when we were done with our drinks we came back inside. We danced again for one song and then we left...and here we are." I finish awkwardly, gesturing to us. "That is all that happened. The complete story. If you want to bug someone, bug Fleur because when I came across her and Roger outside they looked like they were eating each other." I say, annoyed, and walk up the stairs to the girl's dormitories. I find the fifth year dorm and lay on my bed which feels so comfortable after such a long day. I don't even bother changing out of my dress robes. I just fall asleep at once, jewelry, makeup, heels, and all.


End file.
